Columnas del Procurador General

AG Can Help You Collect Your Child Support

AG CAN HELP YOU COLLECT YOUR CHILD SUPPORT
All children deserve a fair start in life and the opportunity to grow healthy and strong. To help make this happen, the Office of the Attorney General works with families all over the state so that they can benefit from child support services. We want to make sure all parents know that our Child Support Division can help them obtain financial and medical support for their children.
Texas law requires that parents without custody contribute to their children’s financial and medical well-being according to the parents’ means. The Child Support Division provides the following services, depending upon the circumstances:
• locating absent parents;
• establishing paternity;
• establishing, enforcing, and modifying child and medical support orders; and
• collecting and distributing child support payments.
To help parents collect child sup-port, we accept applications from mothers, fathers and other indi-viduals who request our services. Applications can be obtained by visiting Child Support Interactive on the main Attorney General Web site at www.oag.state.tx.us, or by calling our 24-hour voice response system at (800) 252-8014. Applications can also be completed online using Child Support Interactive. Parents who re-ceive financial assistance through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission automatically receive child support services.
The Office of the Attorney General encourages those who apply for child support services to supply as much information as possible. This critical information speeds up the process of establishing or enforcing their child support order. The most im-portant information an applicant can provide, aside from the other parent’s current address, is the name and address of the other parent’s current employer. If the current employer is not known, the name and address of the last known employer should be provided.
Additionally, letting us know the following information about the other parent will expedite the processing of your case:
• Social Security number and date of birth;
• names and addresses of relatives and friends;
• names of banks or creditors, such as utility companies;
• names of organizations, unions or clubs to which the other parent belongs; and
• places where the other parent spends free time.
If possible, submit copies of official documents including divorce decrees, the children’s birth certificates, or a signed acknowledgment of paternity.
For the state fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2006, the Attorney General’s Child Support Division collected more than $2 billion in child support, helped more than 100,000 couples voluntarily acknowledge paternity at the hospital when their children were born, and obtained 51,000 court or-ders requiring non-custodial parents to pay child support. We are poised to do even better in 2007. Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated child support team, the Attorney General’s Child Support Division has made a difference in the lives of millions of Texas children.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
CHILD SUPPORT
You can apply for child support services by:
• visiting Child Support Interactive on the main Attorney General Web site at www.oag.state.tx.us
• calling the 24-hour voice response system at (800) 252-8014
Provide the following information about the other parent with your application:
• current address;
• current (or last known) employer’s name and address;
• Social Security number and date of birth;
• names and addresses of relatives and friends;
• names of banks or creditors such as utility companies;
• names of organizations, unions or clubs to which the other parent belongs; and,
• places where the other parent spends free time.
If possible, submit copies of official documents, like your:
• divorce decree,
• children’s birth certificates, and
• signed acknowledgment of paternity.